#6 Helium in Radioactive Rocks

10 Best Evidences From Science That Confirm a Young Earth

During the radioactive decay of uranium and thorium contained in rocks, lots
of helium is produced. Because helium is the second lightest element and a noble
gas—meaning it does not combine with other atoms—it readily diffuses (leaks)
out and eventually escapes into the atmosphere. Helium diffuses so rapidly that
all the helium should have leaked out in less than 100,000 years. So why are
these rocks still full of helium atoms?

While drilling deep Precambrian (pre-Flood) granitic rocks in New Mexico, geologists
extracted samples of zircon (zirconium silicate) crystals from different depths.
The crystals contained not only uranium but also large amounts of helium.1 The hotter the rocks, the faster the helium
should escape, so researchers were surprised to find that the deepest, and therefore
hottest, zircons (at 387°F or 197°C) contained far more helium than expected.
Up to 58% of the helium that the uranium could have ever generated was still
present in the crystals.

The helium leakage rate has been determined in several experiments.2 All measurements are in agreement.
Helium diffuses so rapidly that all the helium in these zircon crystals should
have leaked out in less than 100,000 years. The fact that so much helium is
still there means they cannot be 1.5 billion years old, as uranium-lead dating
suggests. Indeed, using the measured rate of helium diffusion, these pre-Flood
rocks have an average “diffusion age” of only 6,000 (± 2,000) years.3

These experimentally determined and repeatable results, based on the well-understood
physical process of diffusion, thus emphatically demonstrate that these zircons
are only a few thousand years old. The supposed 1.5-billion-year age is based
on the unverifiable assumptions of radioisotope dating that are radically wrong.4

Another evidence of a young earth is the low amount of helium in the atmosphere.
The leakage rate of helium gas into the atmosphere has been measured.5 Even though some helium escapes into outer space, the
amount still present is not nearly enough if the earth is over 4.5 billion years
old.6 In fact, if we assume no
helium was in the original atmosphere, all the helium would have accumulated
in only 1.8 million years even from an evolutionary standpoint.7
But when the catastrophic Flood upheaval is factored in, which rapidly released
huge amounts of helium into the atmosphere, it could have accumulated in only
6,000 years.8

Rescuing Devices

So glaring and devastating is the surprisingly large amount of helium that
old-earth advocates have attempted to discredit this evidence.

One critic suggested the helium didn’t all come from uranium decay in the zircon
crystals but a lot diffused into them from the surrounding minerals. But this
proposal ignores measurements showing that less helium gas is in the surrounding
minerals. Due to the well-established diffusion law of physics, gases always
diffuse from areas of higher concentration to surrounding areas of lower concentration.9

Another critic suggested the edges of the zircon crystals must have stopped
the helium from leaking out, effectively “bottling” the helium within the zircons.
However, this postulation has also been easily refuted because the zircon crystals
are wedged between flat mica sheets, not wrapped in them, so that helium could
easily flow between the sheets unrestricted.10
All other critics have been answered.11 Thus all available evidence confirms that the true age of these
zircons and their host granitic rock is only 6,000 (± 2,000) years.

Helium in Radioactive Rocks

Quick Escape of Helium

Figure 1: Radioactive elements in rocks produce
a lot of helium as they decay; and this gas quickly slips away into the atmosphere,
especially when the rocks are hot. Yet radioactive rocks in the earth’s crust
contain a lot of helium. The only possible explanation: the helium hasn’t
had time to escape!

Dr. Andrew Snelling holds a PhD in geology from the University of Sydney and has worked as a consultant research geologist in both Australia and America. Author of numerous scientific articles, Dr. Snelling is now director of research at Answers in Genesis.

Answers Magazine

October – December 2012

God’s Word clearly teaches that the earth is young, and the evidence powerfully confirms it. So don’t miss this issue of Answers, which brings you up to speed on the ten best evidences for a young earth. Also discover incredible new examples of the Creator’s undeniable designs, a biblical view on political activism, the latest findings on the Dead Sea scrolls, and much more!